FLINT, MI -- Accused serial stabber Elias Abuelazam told a state
psychologist that he felt possessed and had to attack people to get
"soul-sucking demons" out of him, according to testimony on Thursday.

Both
the defense and prosecution presented their experts to say whether Abuelazam was criminally responsible for the attacks.

The prosecution expert said
Abuelazam was, while the defense expert said he was not.

Psychologists said Abuelazam gave them vivid details about what he was thinking at the time of the
attacks. He said over the last two years he began feel possessed after
"a shadow came over him" while in bed, according to testimony from state
psychologist Thomas Brewer.

The 35-year-old Israeli told Brewer that he would drive around at night,
saying he was exhausted and under the possession of evil spirits. He
admitted attacking each of the nine victims he is charged with stabbing, Brewer said.

"(Abuelazam said), 'When I saw the man on the ground bleeding, I went
home and
laid on the bed and the spirit left me. I felt like a human being
again,'" Brewer testified, reading from a report on his evaluation with
Abuelazam.

He talked about how he would lure the person over by asking for help on his car or directions.

Channel 25Dr. Norman Miller

"(Abuelazam said) there was nothing wrong with the hood. 'I wanted to hurt him, but I didn't
want to hurt him at the same time,'" Brewer said, reading from the same report. "'This being moved me. It didn't control my
mind. It moved me. It caused me to hurt him.'"

But Brewer said the behavior was too organized to be insane. Abuelazam
also displayed vengeful behavior in such events as when he smashed the
windows out of a vehicle belonging to a man who he had a dispute with,
which is not the behavior of someone who is insane.

"What I was listening for is his behavior sounded very
organized," testified Brewer. "He was able to wait three or four hours before the incident. His motivation
as far as I could tell was revenge. He was mad at this guy."

Brewer said the fact that Abuelazam would follow the same method of attacking people showed a pattern.

"It was very organized, very planned behavior," said Brewer. "He's not defending
himself. He's luring someone into his track."

Prosecutors will continue questioning on Friday. They have two more
witnesses who will testify Abuelazam was criminally responsible.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said the experts believe Abuelazam has a personality defect, as opposed to being insane.

"He's organized. He's lucid during each and every of the attack," said Leyton.

"Because of the major mental illness, paranoid schizophrenia,
he did it," said Miller.

Miller repeated the term "evil forces" over and over.

"These evil forces just express themselves through Mr. Abuelazam,"
testified Miller. "There wasn't any question about whether what he was
doing was right or wrong."

Miller said Abuelazam had a history of mental
illness. Abuelazam tried to killed himself in 1997 and stabbed a
friend in 2009, according to testimony. An Israeli psychologist
diagnosed Abuelazam as "psychotic" after that 2009 incident. He also was
hospitalized after the suicide attempt, Miller said.

Miller
said the facts that Abuelazam moved around a lot, was a poor student in
school and went through two divorces in a short time, coupled with
delusions, showed that he suffered from schizophrenia.

"The delusions, not Mr. Abuelazam, would want to hurt them," Miller said. "His
intent was not to kill anyone. He would stab them once or twice and then leave. He would not stay to finish them off."

Leyton asserted that Miller was asking leading questions to Abuelazam,
such as "is it your thought that the evil force did this?" Miller said he was simply asking follow-up questions to previous Abuelazam statements.

When
pressed, Miller also testified that he was paid $6,000 by the defense
for his work and hasn't testified on behalf of the prosecution in criminal cases in five
years.

Another one of Leyton's lines of questioning had to do with the method of attacks -- at night and when no one is around.

"Each and every time he used trickery to draw the victim near
and stab them, isn't that true?" Leyton asked Miller. "If he's forced by evil forces, how can he pick his spots
like that?"

"Isn't it just possible that all this indicates he knew
exactly what was happening?" Leyton said.

The trial likely will carry into next week with closing arguments and deliberation coming on Tuesday.

You can hear testimony from Miller and Brewer in the video below:

Abuelazam trial May 17During testimony in the Elias Abuelazam suspected serial stabber case, two experts took the stand to testify whether the defendant was insane or criminally responsible for the acts.
In this video you first hear from defense expert Dr. Norman Miller, then Dr. Miller is cross examined by Genesee County Proseuctor David Leyton and finally there is testimony from the prosecution's expert, Dr. Thomas Brewer.